Bodywork isn’t a job to me, it is a passion. I enjoy working with my hands, I love working with people, and I am fascinated by how amazingly complex our bodies are. I consider it a privilege and value the trust that clients give to me to help assist them with their therapeutic needs.
I grew up on the other side of Illinois, in the Quad Cities. I spent my 20’s trying to find the right balance of working with my hands and trying to help people before finally finding this path. It was my introduction Bio-energetic healing of the Usui Reiki Ryoho tradition, in 2003, that finally connected everything together for me. I began my general bodywork training in January 2004 and instantly fell in love with massage. I could not get enough of it and wanted to learn more about the amazing healing capabilities of our bodies.
In 2007, I moved to the Chicago area to pursue a degree in Biomedical Science from National University of Health Sciences. My plan was to pursue Naturopathic Medicine until my discovery of Structural Energetic Therapy® taught me how integrating muscle testing, cranial-sacral, and myofascial release techniques together creates a more complete way of treating the body. I started seeing life-changing results that I did not think were possible before learning SET’s Cranial/Structural Core Distortion Release protocol. It made me even more fascinated with bodywork and I realized that I love bodywork way too much to do anything else.
In April 2009, I graduated with my Biomedical Science degree and celebrated by going to Thailand to experience the culture and see how Traditional Thai Massage could expand my bodywork knowledge. That trip turned into three that have allowed me to learn from six different teachers. From the trips I gained valuable insight into an Asian perspective of bodywork and also have been blessed with my beautiful daughter, Areeya.
It has been over 20 years since starting this path and I still consider myself a student seeing what new lessons clients’ bodies have for me. At this point, there really isn’t much left to the body that I do not have experience working on working with. Cranial-sacral bodywork has allowed me to evolve to be more than ‘just’ a massage therapist working with special needs children (and adults) with conditions such as ADD/ADHD, Autistic spectrum disorders, and neurologic conditions like Parkinson’s disease and vertigo. I have attended several John Barnes’ Myofascial Release® seminars to better understand how to unwind physical and emotional trauma from our body. And, if that isn’t enough, I recently added Cupping Therapy to my list of techniques to be able to incorporate “negative pressure” myofascial release into our bodywork sessions. And, in 2023, my training came full-circle to return to studying bio-energetic work by attending several the Master Choa Kok Sui system of Pranic Healing.
I love what I do and feel blessed to have gotten to know and help so many people. I look forward to helping you on your journey into greater health and happiness.
Bodywork Training:
- Usui/Tibetan Reiki (Master/Teacher level), 2003-2008
- The Institute of Therapeutic Massage and Wellness, Davenport, Iowa, 2004
- Aromatherapy, 2004-2005
- Kurashova Re-Education™ method of Russian Neuromuscular Therapy 2004-2006
- Reflexology certification, Ina Bryant method, 2005
- Structural Energetic Therapy®, 2007-2010
- Traditional Thai Massage, formal & informal instruction, Thailand, 2009+
- John Barnes Myofascial Release 1 & 2, Myofascial Unwinding & Rebounding, Fascial-Pelvis, Cervical-Thoracic, Quantum Leap!, Advanced Unwinding, and Myofascial Healing seminars, 2012+
- Neural Reset Therapy, Upper Body, 2016
- Certified Cupping Therapist, International Cupping Therapy Association, 2018
- Myoskeletal Techniques Posture & Pain Specialist, Freedom From Pain Institute (Erik Dalton), 2020
- MCKS Pranic Healing, Levels 1 & 2, Pranic Psychotherapy, Crystal Healing, Achieving Oneness with the Higher Soul, and Kriyashakti Seminars 2023
Other relevant education:
Bachelor’s of Science, Biomedical Science, National University of Health Sciences, 2009